


Promise Me

by soggyramen



Category: Heart Pangs (mmmleckerlecker)
Genre: "I'm Chris Hanson from Dateline NBC", Angst, Bromance, Fluff, Gay Undertones, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Insanity, Predator/Prey, Sickness, Size Difference, Soft Vore, Starvation, Suffering, Vore, Withdrawal, hunger, implied fatal vore, little ooc, unwilling prey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29743260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soggyramen/pseuds/soggyramen
Summary: !!MAJOR SPOILERS!!2/23/21Not long after joining Epomis alongside his sister, Benji gets captured by the Facility. There, he finds Felix, and after over ten years, the two are finally reunited. But Felix is meant to be his extractor and his disposer. Benji still manages to convince Felix to join Epomis. They escape the Facility together and Benji leads him back to their headquarters - an abandoned hospital. But the other rebels aren't too trusting of a pred from the Facility (of all places), and lock him up. Felix goes along with this, expressing that it was for everyone's safety. Over the three years of being a disposer, he has developed a consuming addiction. And soon enough, without prey to eat, Felix sinks into withdrawal, despite Benji's best efforts.Benji narrates as he tries to find a way for his best friend to turn back into his former self.
Kudos: 12





	Promise Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mmmleckerlecker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmleckerlecker/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Heart Pangs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27746695) by [mmmleckerlecker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmleckerlecker/pseuds/mmmleckerlecker). 



> When I started writing this, only 1-18 of Heart Pangs had been released. So obviously I took some creative liberties to fill in the blanks when it comes to themes like the Facility, Epomis, Benji and Camille's further feelings towards preds/Felix, so I'm sorry if it seems kind of OOC.
> 
> This fic turned into such a fucking beast. But I had so much I wanted to cover and then my word count just grew and grew and GREW.

Felix has changed. And yet, somehow, he is still the kid that walked away from the shed all those years ago. A night I think about frequently. 

Though he’s completely beside himself now. Hardly even a person at all.

I think he’s grown though. An extra foot or so perhaps. When we were teenagers, he didn’t feel all that much larger than me. Like I could still look him in the eye. Now, I’m faced with his towering form, and it makes sense that I would fit in his stomach. In fact, it’s overwhelming. It reminds me of my purpose on this planet. I was food.

For a time it was his job. He got paid to consume. To kill. To eat. People like me. What’s more is he was good at it. He even liked it. Lived for it. 

It could have been me. It  _ was  _ almost me, once.

He is a familiarity dressed as a stranger. I believe if I was to see his naked, true form, he would be just the same as when we were young. The same little boy kissed Camille on the head. 

I’m glad he’s here. But more than that, I’m glad I’m with him. I don’t think he feels the same though.

I think, if he had his way, he’d run back to the Facility. Where he could forget about the twisted world he lives in, and simply feel the bliss of consuming with no strings attached. Strings like me, Camille or Epomis. Although I wish he didn’t feel that way, I can’t blame him for it. It’s just mechanical. That's all.

I never  _ did _ blame him for anything. He left my life out of protection, not abandonment. Everything he did back then was for me. And I still lay awake at night, and think about the tremendous pain he must have been in. Just a kid. Alone and afraid. The aching, stinging cavern of his stomach, tormenting him endlessly in the silent summer night.

I comb through memories and re-write them in my head. In a world where I reached out to him instead of staying silent. Told him that I noticed he was acting a bit differently, and that I was there for him no matter what. That I wasn’t afraid. I could have stripped down the wall of shame and secrecy he had used to shield me from the truth. And I think that maybe, in that world, we wouldn’t have had to go our separate ways. Felix wouldn’t be the way he is now. The mass of hungry despair, locked inside that tiny concrete cell - an empty garage.

In the kitchen, I make food for him. Every day. Four times a day. The biggest portions we can spare. I make sure he always has fresh water and a comfortable enough place to sleep. I’m the only one who does. Everyone else sees him as an enemy - a monster. Even Camille. To her, he’s just a memory. A former friend turned killer at the hands of the pred lifestyle. A lost cause, she tells me. She doesn’t stop by his cell at all. I think his condition makes her upset. As if I feel much better about it than she does.

When I open the door, those four times a day, I do so accepting the risks that come with it. Felix either eats or he doesn’t. There are no half-finished meals. On good days, he’ll hold his breath and rip the food out of my hands, then tilt the plate over his gaping mouth and let the contents slide down his throat. Just like that. Gone. But no matter how much I give him, it’s never enough. It doesn’t satisfy him one bit.

Bad days are when he doesn’t touch his food at all. When he just sits in the corner, huddled into a ball with his knees against his chest, shaking, panting and drooling. Because that means he isn’t hungry for whatever I have to give him. He’s hungry for prey.

In his first few weeks of being here, he didn’t eat anything. Then one morning, when I came in to give him his breakfast. He was waiting for me. Behind the door. He grabbed me in a split-second and started forcing me into his mouth. My head was wedged up against the back of his throat before I managed to reach up and scratch his eye. He choked and coughed me up as he backed away, groaning in pain with his hand over his scratched cornea, blood flowing between his fingers. I ran out the door and locked it behind me, just in time to feel the force of Felix’s fist against the iron. He screamed and cried for me to come back, spitting promises he couldn't keep.  _ “I’m sorry, Benji! I won’t hurt you again! I swear! Just please come back! I need you!”  _ I couldn’t tell if he was genuine, or just saying things to get me back in his room. So he could have another go at me. He just sounded like a desperate, crying child, being torn away from its mother.

When I went back to the dorms to shower Felix’s saliva off my skin, Camille was outraged.

“I knew something like this would happen!” She said. “He’s a pred - that’s what they do! They kill!”

“He’s going through withdrawal, Camille. It’s not his fault.” I told her.

“If he had learned some self control, he wouldn’t be an addict in the first place!”

I didn’t know what to say. Was that true? How could  _ I  _ know?

“He ate Toni, Benji! One of our own! Probably even more of us! He’s a murderer!”

“No - he was manipulated! He was told we were terrorists - that  _ we _ were the murderers! He thought what he was doing was justified.”

“And he  _ enjoyed it!” _

“ _ Yes,  _ Camille! He did enjoy it! Even if he didn’t  _ want _ to like it, he would have!”

“Exactly! How long is it going to take for you to realize that!?”

To accept that I was practically born to be consumed by Felix? I’d have to keep her posted on that one. “I believe in him. I believe he’s in there - beyond all the instincts and the cravings and the addiction.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, prepare to be disappointed!”

“You grew up with him too - how could you say that?”

“Because he grew into what he is. A monster. Sure, he was sweet then. But so are bear cubs when they’re young. Before they learn to hunt and maul. He’s just as dangerous as the rest of them!”

“Then why would he agree to join us? Tell me that!”

“Because then he gets his own private supply of fresh prey to terrorize and consume!”

“You don’t really think that, Camille! You’re just scared of him.”

“Of course I'm scared of him! He obviously wouldn’t hesitate,” She looked me up and down, acknowledging my spit-soaked body. “To eat the first prey he sees!”

I protest that, “The man in that cell is  _ not Felix! _ ” 

“No - The little boy that patched up my leg and told me he’d protect me - **_that_** _wasn’t Felix._ What did _this_ to you, is what he really is! A giant stomach with legs - hungrier than a dog-!”

“You don’t understand, please - He’s in  _ pain  _ \- He’s  _ suffering!” _

“And do you know what you do with a suffering dog?” She walked towards the door, hand on the knob. “You put it  **down** .” And she left. 

I don’t really think Camille wants to put Felix “down.” I just think her attack a few years ago has made it hard to see preds as anything other than the throat she was halfway down. But Felix was one of the first friends she had ever had. Her first crush too. And that must be hard. To find out the person you used to play with as a child is now addicted to eating people alive. That they can’t even be around prey without salivating. Or that they tried to eat your brother. Twice.

But a few days ago, I went into Felix’s cell, hoping to catch a glimpse of his eyes. I’m lucky to see his face nowadays. Even if he does only see food when he looks at me, at this point. 

I still expected to find him in his spot. He rarely moves from it. The corner of the room farthest away from the sun. I guess it hurts his eyes.

This time, he was right in the center of it’s rays, lying, curled up in a limp ball on the floor. His back was to me. He looked lifeless. Almost dead. 

He hadn’t eaten the day before. Or the day before that.

“Felix!”

I rushed to his side, dropping to my knees, hands trembling and my heart beating wildly out of my chest. I think I was more scared than when he consumed me for the first time. 

“Felix - oh my god!” He looked awful. I put one hand on his cheek. I thought he’d be cold to the touch - I was sure of it from how pale he was. On the contrary, he was burning up. Hot as a furnace. His temples were beading with sweat. 

I placed my other hand on his neck. I searched for a pule. But when I found it, it was slow and faint. Like when someone was in a deep sleep. 

Felix was very much awake though. Groaning, panting. Fighting. 

He even reached up to his cheek and grabbed my wrist. I thought it was his way of letting me know he was there. That he appreciated my company. And for that moment, it was like all my hoping and believing had paid off. I was right. My Felix wasn’t lost  _ yet _ .

Then his grip tightened around me and my hand was yanked down and into his mouth. With a swift swing of his arm he grabbed the back of my head and started forcing me down towards his face.

“ **FelixFelixFelix!** No, no, Felix, stop -  **Stop!** ” I pried his fingers off me, ducking my head around out of his palm and jumping back from his reach. 

I remembered when we were teenagers. That time he grabbed my arm. When he lost control for a brief, telling moment, and lifted me up onto my toes. I felt how strong he really was. His power was raw and unrestrained. So much so that, if he really wanted to, he could do anything to me, and I would  **never** be able to overpower him.

Now, his fingers practically peeled away like the rind of an orange. His grip on my skull was more desperate than dangerous. That was frightening all on it’s own.

I stared at him, my back pressed up against the wall. I was afraid, but not of Felix. 

His shaky hands and arms slowly repositioned to prop himself up and lift his chest off the concrete. His legs folded under him, and he stood on his knees with his palms docked onto the floor. The motion reminded me of the way a frail old woman gets out of a chair. 

Felix looked at me from the corner of his eye. Until he began to cough violently. Bile and stomach acid rising from his gut into his mouth, where it could drip from his grey lips and gather into a puddle of sickness below.

I didn’t realize it but I had cupped my hand over my mouth, now wide with terror. “F-Felix...?” I muttered.

After passing a few heaves, sputters and lingering coughs, his focus was back on me. His eyes were glazed over with fatigue and hunger. I wondered if he could even tell who I was. Did he even know who  _ he _ was?

Felix turned toward me, and took a crawling step in my direction, on all fours. His breaths left his mouth in heavy puffs of wet air. I could hear a faint wheeze in the back of his throat. He did really look like an animal. A lion stalking a lamb.

Is that what everyone saw when they looked at Felix? Can’t they see that he himself has been consumed?

Only a pace away from me, he outstretched one trembling arm and wrapped his fingers around my shoulder. I felt a strained, fading pull toward him. Until his arms and legs gave out under him, and he collapsed back onto the floor. His hand still gripped my shoulder, holding onto the chance that maybe - just maybe - I’d see the desperation in his eyes and take pity on him. Allow him to use whatever scraps of waning strength he had in him to grab me and push me down into his stomach. I saw it. The hope for someone to be generous enough to make the suffering stop.

The terrible fear I had had for so long of being devoured again, melted away. In fact, it seemed so silly. As I saw, in it's raw certainty, the sad and brutal monster that had taken complete control of my friend. The one that tormented him on those silent summer nights in high school. The one that betrayed me in the worst way possible. Now it had strangled the man out of him.

I took his weak hand off my shoulder. Held it to my chest and cradled it in my palms. My vision of the weak predator before me blurred with oncoming tears. My voice was so small and wavering, I could hardly hear it. “It’s okay...”

It was like he was fading away right in front of me. I even considered granting his wish. Even if it meant I had to crawl into his mouth. Letting him take what he needed of me to end the pain. No, more than the pain. The dying. “Benji....” He wheezed.

“Felix…!” I couldn’t believe it. It had been forever since he had said my name. And he was right. It was me. I was there. I was there for him.

Then an awful, sharp gurgle from Felix’s stomach cut through our brief, tender moment. “Benji!” My name came out more like a growl. His fingers curled in my hands. He grit his teeth and winced, bringing his free arm around his aching abdomen. “It  _ hurts! _ ” 

“I know. I know, Felix - I’m so sorry.” I cried into his open hand while he looked for a part of me to grab. His massive digits roamed across my face and the side of my neck. I didn’t mind if it was looking for comfort or another attempt to get me closer to him. So he could eat me. 

“I…” He drew in a weak breath, probably taking my tantalizing prey scent with it. He shivered and gagged as his throat expanded and deflated on it’s on accord. “I’m sorry. I’m so hungry…”

I hushed him,  _ “Shhh. I know. You don’t have to tell me - I know, Felix.”  _ Even though I don't think he was trying to tell me as much as to convince me. He was persistent. But at least the fire in him wasn’t completely extinguished. The will to live was there, though running on fumes. It gave me some sense of reassurance. I found myself pining for his every movement. Each touch, blink and breath.

His eyes began to close and his breathing slowed. 

“Felix! Felix, stay with me! Please, stay with me!”

I don’t think he could stop even if he wanted to though. His strength was gone. Exuded on a last ditch effort on getting something to eat.

His hand went limp. “Felix!”

I closed the short distance between us. I picked up the predator’s heavy head and placed it on my lap. Again, I bent down, my ear on his neck. I listened for his heartbeat, feeling ungrateful for not savoring it’s gentle thumping before. I could hardly hear anything over Felix’s strained, shallow breaths. But it shyly revealed itself, remaining in the same weak state it was in when I had first checked. 

I expected him to stir with the smell and touch of his precious prey. But he remained as still as a corpse. I could only hope my small lap made for a comfortable enough pillow. 

I knew I needed help. I had no idea what was going on.

I fished my phone out of my jacket pocket and dialed Dr. Cane. 

The line rang for a good three cycles before she picked up. I was beyond glad that she did. 

“Yes?”

I nearly cut her off. I couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “It’s Benji! I need you to come down to the garage in the B Wing! Something is wrong with Felix!”

Doctor Cane worked in this hospital before it shut down. She treated both preds and prey when she was in practice. And then her whole family got consumed. She joined Epomis. Now, she’s our medic. “The pred? What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know! But he wasn’t eating - now he’s got a fever and he’s spitting up bile - he’s so weak he can barely move! I need you to get down here  **_now_ ** ! I think he’s dying!”

I don’t think my demanding tone gave her any room to deny. So she agreed, saying she was on her way, then hung up.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket. I waited. She couldn’t come soon enough.

I couldn’t keep myself away from Felix though. I was overwhelmed with the need to comfort my friend. 

My touch ran down his cheek and up his strong jaw. I pet his head and felt the burning heat in his skin. He slept impossibly deep. Like a child. It only brought forth just how absolutely exhausted he was.

He couldn’t stay asleep for long though. Eventually, or rather, hopefully, Felix would wake up. Just so he could cycle through the same motions and desperations - the pains of before. 

I felt selfish. He was being tortured by his own body. I wouldn’t let him have the one thing that would satiate his hunger. Me. He’d finally feel complete. Full. Satisfied. Strong. The way he used to. He’d be the  _ man _ he used to be. At my expense. Which I don’t feel is that big of a deal. Afterall, I had told him if I was going to get consumed by a pred, I’d want it to be Felix. I still meant that. And if it was to save his life, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But then, who would feed him again after I was long gone. Who would make sure he had that fresh water to drink and those clean bed sheets to sleep on, the way I did? Who would visit him 5 - 6 times a day? I did that. The only one who did. Without me, Felix wouldn’t have anyone to protect him. And how would they know I was consumed willingly? Camille would kill him herself - personally. In fact, she’d never look at another pred again and not see a monster. Then  _ she _ would be a lost cause. 

Plus, I had made a promise to Felix. Right after we escaped the Facility. 

We jumped in his car and drove, speeding down boulevards with black SUVs trailing behind us. We weren’t sure we were even going to make it. That we would either be caught again, or the car would tip over and roll as we swung around the many sharp turns of the city. I flung directions at him, hoping we could lose them on the way to headquarters. 

He swapped his gaze between me in the passenger seat and the rapidly ending road before us. “Benji,” he said horsley. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I need to tell you something-”

“Tell me later!”

“There might not  **_be_ ** a later!” Felix made another hair-pin turn. “Which is why I need to tell you now!”

I held tight onto the seat under me. “Fine - Just make it quick...and keep your eyes on the road!”

“Okay,” He took a deep breath, glancing into the rear-view mirror. “For the past thirteen years I’ve been thinking about the last day we were together. When I...consumed you. And I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.” He sounded so robotic. Like he had rehearsed. Though his speech was rushed, loud and uneven as the SUVs pursued us further. “Specifically you. You didn’t do anything. You just let me do it. You just accepted that I was going to consume you - I was going to kill you - and you did nothing about it. You-you didn’t even struggle when...when you were inside of me!”

Frankly, I didn’t appreciate being reminded of that of betrayal. Not in such detail. That the pred, who had put me through such extreme peril, was right beside me. I had worked so hard to forget my brief time inside of that...prison in his body. Or at least, put as much distance as I could between my childhood and the hungry predator that warped my view of the world. For good. “What are you getting at, Felix?” 

“I want you to promise you’ll never do something like that again!” He made another deadly turn, throwing my body against the car door. “Promise me that whatever you do, you’ll fight! No matter who it is. Don’t just sit back and accept defeat the way you did back then, Benji. I need you to fight to stay alive. If not for yourself, than for me, or for Camille, your mom, Stephanie - something!”

I found it so hypocritical that he would say something like that.  _ “Fight to stay alive for me. Me, the pred that consumed you.”  _ I just stared at him, looking for some sign this whole endearing speech was just a really bad joke. But after a moment of my silence, he gazed back at me, waiting for me to say something.

And when I didn’t, he snapped, “ **Well?** ”

“I-” I scoffed. “Yeah, sure. I promise.”

He balked at me. “I’m being serious, Benji! Swear on your mother’s  _ fucking grave _ that when you go out, you go out kicking and screaming! Doesn’t matter if it’s cancer, or old age, or hell - even a fucking car crash - You fight, god damnit - do you promise?”

“Yes.”

“On your mothers grave?”

“Yes.”

“Say it!”

“ **Oh my god** \- I promise on my mother’s grave that I will die kicking and screaming!”

“Okay…” He breathed. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

“Good. Now keep your eyes on the road.”

I didn’t think much of that promise I made him. At the time, I didn’t really mean what I was saying. I just wanted him to stop talking and drive. But after I realized what I had promised to him, it was too late to take it back. That moment meant something to him. Deeply. Who was I to take it away from him? And even though I didn’t know it, it meant something to me too. 

We spoke to each other the way we did when we were kids. In that car, it felt like no time had passed between us at all. Like we picked up right where we left off - a bookmark in a story we hadn’t read in ages. I didn’t think I would ever see him again, after thirteen years - and there he was, putting his pedal to the medal, down mainstreet. Like it was just another one of our misadventures.

The back door to the garage opened. In came Dr. Cane with a heavy looking briefcase in hand.  She looked at Felix cautiously, as if he would pop-up and scare her at any moment.

“It’s okay.” I said. “He’s asleep.”

Cane nodded at me. She almost seemed impressed that I was brave enough to hold a pred the way I did.

She placed herself and her briefcase beside me, getting onto her knees. Her gaze scanned over Felix’s huge, sickly form, before she hesitantly reached out, lightly placing the back of her hand onto his temple. After a brief moment, she drew back. “Oh dear…” She muttered. 

Cane unzipped her briefcase, drawing a temporal thermometer. She held it a few inches from his head, and with the confirmation of a quiet beep, she retracted again, squinting at the small digital screen on the back of the thermometer. Judging from the way she reacted to it, it wasn’t displaying a good number.

She pushed a long breath from her lips, like she was blowing up a balloon. She put the thermometer back, dawning a stethoscope. 

I watched as Dr Cane pressed the little metal disk at the end of the coard, up against Felix’s chest. She listened with professional intensity, first to his heart. I wondered if she heard the same thing that I did. The wilting sound of something once so powerful, fading into the soft tapping of raindrops on the tin roof above. Did she hear the whispers of pain and struggle when she closed her eyes and listened to the slowed pace of his lungs, deep in his chest? 

I didn’t know. From what I could gather though, between the look in her eyes and the thin line she had pressed her lips into, she was afraid of what she would hear when she listened to Felix’s stomach. And she wasn’t afraid for his sake.

“I heard he worked at the Facility.” Cane said suddenly, still intently listening to the sounds of my friend’s gut. She didn’t look at me, but rather at the floor. “I’m assuming he consumed regularly than, correct?”

I nodded, continuing to run my fingers through his dark hair. I noted how he needed a shower. “Yes.”

“And was he an addict?”

It felt wrong. Hearing Felix being reduced to just that by someone. Just an addict. An empty stomach. Just a monster. 

But it was the truth - him being an addict. I nodded again. “He was.”

“So when was the last time he consumed?”

I didn’t want to have to think about that. A very much aware and willing, in-control Felix with his jaws unhinged, maw stretched wide to accommodate the squirming body of a possibly innocent person. I couldn’t be asked to calculate something like that.

“If I had to guess, not since he got here. So...four weeks ago?”

Then her eyes flicked up to me. She pulled the silicone ends of the stethoscope out of her ears, head tilted down. “Four weeks? A month?”

I’ve been counting. “Yeah.”

“So he went from being an addict and consuming often, to eating nothing but ordinary food for a month?”

She made it sound like I was abusing him or something. Neglecting him. I was trying my best. Still, I nodded again, rubbing the locks of his hair between my thumb and index finger. Even this part of him felt dry, thinning and dead. 

Then Cane pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she had a migraine. Maybe she did. She groaned, “ _ Benji…”  _ She got up and shoved the stethoscope in her bag. “You don’t know the first thing about consuming addictions, do you? You don’t even know anything about drug addictions.”

They didn’t exactly talk about the effects of drugs in school, just not to do them. And nobody even dared to  _ mention _ consuming unless absolutely necessary. So no. I didn’t. Nobody bothered to tell me and for the most part, I hoped I’d never have to do research on the topic. But now I felt guilty for not doing so. “No.” I said quietly. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He's an addict, Benji!” She hissed at me. “Did you think him quitting consuming all together, so suddenly wasn’t going to have physical consequences?”

“I don’t know-”

“Let me break it down for you.” Cane was angry. Or at least thoroughly annoyed. At me specifically. “Preds are made and built to consume and digest prey. Us. That’s why their jaws can unhinge, why their throats and stomachs can expand. And why their stomach acid is so powerful. It is made to dissolve _ flesh _ and  _ bone _ . Do you understand that, Benji?”

“Yeah-we learned all that in high school-middle school - What are you getting at? What's wrong with my friend?”

“His stomach is starting to digest itself. His body is dying.” Her jaw tensed. She bore holes with her eyes into me. “When preds want to get clean, they can’t just stop consuming all together. They need to  **gradually** prepare their bodies to stop consuming and digesting prey. Or else this happens - I can’t believe you let this happen!”

“What was I  _ supposed _ to do?” I snapped back. “Feed him one of us - from Epomis? Kidnap someone?”

“You shouldn’t have brought him here at all!” Her voice had risen into a roar. “This is why we don’t let preds join us!”

“ **Shhhh!** ” I was afraid her volume would wake Felix up. That was the last thing she needed. “How can he get better? Is there some kind of medicine you can give him? Are there treatments? Any procedures?” I whispered.

She shook her head. Her voice lowered into a more bitter tone. “The only way is to let him consume again.”

The only way? “Where am I supposed to get him prey? The local morgue?”

“No.” She was back in her briefcase. Looked like she was searching for something. She talked  _ at _ me. “He needs live prey.”

“ _ What? _ ” 

Felix. My best friend. The boy I grew up with, now a fading shell of who he used to be, sleeping peacefully under my touch. His face is one I’ve always known. Like my mother’s or Camille’s. He was as much my family as anyone else. I couldn’t just watch him die. I wouldn’t let the night claim him like it did back then. I had just gotten him back, realized how much I needed him. 

It’s my fault. My ignorance and his shame will be the death of him.

How was I supposed to lose Felix again?

Then there was a meek little  _ ‘clink’ _ behind me. I turned my head. Cane sat back on her knees, a glass syringe in her hand, filled to the plunger with a yellowish liquid that looked like urine. She was getting rid of the air bubbles inside.

“What's that?” I asked, rubbing Felix’s collarbone comfortingly. 

Her voice was steady and even again. “It’s a sedative.” She replied.

“Why? He’s already asleep.”

Cane locked eyes with me, then nodded. “It’s to make sure he stays asleep, Benji.”

She sounded like Camille.  _ “Do you know what you do with a suffering dog? You put it down.” _

I stared at the syringe in her hand. It’s wicked needle winked back at me. “No.” I told her softly.

“Benji, we’re out of options.”

“No!”

“The only choice left to make is either to let him go peacefully in his sleep, or for him to suffer a painful death!”

“No!” Was all I could say. I refused to accept defeat. I’d fight. For Felix. “No!” I threw my body over him, shielding him from the fate behind me. “You can’t kill him!” I squeezed his hand, clammy with sweat. 

“ **Fine.** I won’t.” I heard the delicate sound of the glass set against the concrete, followed by the zipping of Dr. Cane’s briefcase. “ _ You _ can. When you realize it’s a mercy to both him, and us.”

I heard her walk off, closing the back door to the garage behind her as she left.

How could there be no other option? Were these my last moments with Felix? How much time did he have left with me?

I had plans. We still needed to do so much catching up. We needed to go out drinking together, see movies, make up for years of lost time. Now all that felt distant and stolen. And I had no one to blame but myself. Why didn’t I  _ think? Why? _ I should have asked him. Asked him how he was doing. What he was feeling. If he needed anything else.

But I didn’t. And he was too afraid and ashamed to tell me himself. I was wrong, he hasn’t changed at all. He’s still as gentle and scared of me as he was when we were kids. The only difference now is, he’s an addict. And history was repeating itself. I was going to lose my best friend again.

His body used to be a cage. It was mine, one time. Now, it’s only prisoner is Felix himself. He’s trapped in an endless cycle of yearning and agony. All alone and no one to understand a fraction of the torment he faced behind his eyes. His voice, drowned out by the impatient rumblings of an empty core.

Acid. Melting away the lining of his strong stomach. The pain of having such a coveted, essential part of yourself, dissolve, slowly. A place that, for him, had as much feeling as something like my hand. Every breath. Each punch and every kick. It rang throughout every fiber of his being. 

If he swallowed me up now, would it hurt him? Would the pressure of my skin against his burned insides pain him? Enough to scream? More or less than he did when that stomach was empty? What could possibly be worse? 

I held him. And I cried into his shirt. I no longer cared if he woke up. I don’t think he would even be powerful enough to pry me off of him if he did.

Did he dream? And did it hurt to dream? Did it hurt to sleep, Felix?

I looked over at him. He still appeared so peaceful. I wished he could stay like that. 

Then I remembered. He could. I could save him. End the unfathomable pain inside of him. Who better than me, to do so. If I was to get killed, I’d choose for Felix to consume me. I wondered if he felt the same way towards me.

The syringe still layed there. It stared back at me like it could hear my thoughts. I hated it. Yet, I saw it as Felix’s only salvation.

My hand shook as I reached for it, and finally wrapped my fingers around it's circular shape. I watched it, holding it so tightly, I was afraid it would break. But only because it scared me so much. The needle smiled at me, knowingly, under the cold fluorescent lights hanging over head. What did it know that I didn’t?

Felix was still sleeping. And I was still shaking. 

Could I do this? Was it like Dr Cane said - did I even have a choice?

I brushed away the dark brown hair hanging over the side of his neck. Faintly, I could see a thick, green vein gazing back at me, begging for mercy. 

But that's what I tried to think of this as. A mercy. One he deserved. Not to suffer and die in fear. 

I pressed the needle flush against the vein, preparing to puncture it.

And I told myself I wasn’t choosing. That I was doing this for him. Not because I was afraid of him. Or I thought Epomis held more value than him. It was because I couldn’t bear to know he was hurting the way he was. 

His hair and flesh blurred into dull colors under the shimmering needle. I hiccuped as it bounced on his flesh, my every atom, charged with a draining sense of panic. I was going to take his life.

I wasn’t putting him down. Like a dog. Or a criminal. Felix wasn’t either. He was no animal. And he wasn’t a heartless serial killer, or a child rapist. He was a man. And he thought he had no choice but to become what he did.

I was about to slide the needle in when the idea came to me. It washed over me so suddenly that I ceased completely. I even stopped breathing. 

My head spun with the realization that I did indeed have a third option for Felix. 

Child rapists. I had heard horror stories as a young teen about adult men looking for sex with underaged girls and boys on the internet. Men who were willing to travel hours away to rape a child. That desperate and eager. 

Of course. People who already deserved to die. True dangers to society who would otherwise go unnoticed. It was so easy. And so simple. The perfect prey.

I pulled the syringe away from Felix. I was going to save him. But not with the urine colored liquid in the glass. 

I lifted the damned thing up to the light. The fluid inside glowed gold before me, as my plan started to piece together. 

My vision cleared, and so did my mind. I had the recipe for the antidote. All I had to do was ask how much of the sedative would put an adult prey to sleep.

Today, he will arrive. His username is as gross as could be. Daddy101. A 37 year old who thinks I’m 14. And a girl. He drank in every coo, request and compliment I had to give. Within two days of back and forth, and a picture of his penis, he agreed to meet with me. I had promised him oral sex. 

[ _ There’s an abandoned hospital down the street from where I live. We can hook up there! I don’t wanna risk getting caught at my house. Come on Friday around 3:30. I’ll meet you on my way home from school so one will know lol ;) _ ]

He bought it. Because he thinks he’s in control. He sees himself as the lion. I’ve convinced him I’m a mouse. In time though, he will regret acting on his disgusting desires.

I watch his red pick-up truck pull into the empty parking lot of the hospital. I’m hidden behind the brush in a dark hoodie. It was once Felix’s before he grew out of it. I can’t decide if I wore it as a form of homage to him, or just because it was perfect for what I have in store.

His car is dirty and old. The paint is fringed, bubbling with age like wrinkles on someone’s skin. Through his passenger window, I see him turn the engine off, then grab for his phone. He’s texting someone. Hopefully me. But I can’t make out what he looks like.

Sure enough, a second later, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. 

[ _ Here _ ] Is all he says.

I duck down behind a bush to quickly write back. [ _ I’m inside :) the main entrance is unlocked so come on in! Make sure nobody sees you tho! _ ] It’s too late for that. And I have to give myself a little credit. At least I force myself to put effort into my responses. They’re littered with irony. I can’t really allow myself to think about anything at this time though.

I peer back over the foliage, into the car. He receives my message, reads it, then gets out. I don’t even think he locks the truck behind him as he makes his way towards the door. He’s just that confident. I wonder how many times this man has done this. I finally get a good look at him though.

He’s bald, and muscular for a prey. Toned, with a white muscle tee on and jeans. Work boots on his feet. Is he a construction worker? I guess it doesn’t matter though. He has his back to me, and it's now or never. 

I can’t give myself even a chance to consider sparing this man. It’s not something I can afford. Instead, I allow pure adrenaline to take hold over me. 

My heart pounds menacingly in my chest. It’s like my body is being controlled. My feet are quiet against the pavement, and I’m swifter than I ever thought I could be.

By the time he has the wit to turn around, the needle is already in his neck, and I’m pushing down the plunger. The tranquilizer invades his bloodstream. I’m holding the same syringe I almost used on Felix a few days ago. Another homage I hadn’t noticed, maybe?

The second I know every drop of the gold liquid is in the prey man, I back away, fearing of getting swung at. The perfect thing to ruin a perfect crime. 

The man spins around. I realize for the first time that he is significantly taller than me. “What the  **fuck!”** He spits.

Did I give him the right dosage? How long will it be until he passes out? Should I be worried? 

He’s pissed. Angrier than I have ever seen a person get, veins bulging from his forehead. This guy can chew me up and spit me out.

Yet, I don’t run. I don’t shield my face. I just keep my eyes locked on him as I walk backwards, searching for a sign of oncoming weakness from the drug. 

“You little  **fucking shit!** I’ll fucking **kill you!** ” He takes a massive step towards me, fist flying in practiced precision. How often does this guy beat people up?

I duck out of the way. Shouldn’t he be out by now? One hit from him and I’m done for!

His car. I run to his car. He chases after me, huffing and puffing in fury. He’s so close behind me, I feel the air being pushed from his hands as he reaches to grab me by my hood.

I circle around the back of his truck and swing myself into the pick-up bed. My body clamors against the aluminum with a hollow ‘ **_Thunk_ ** _ ’. _

He growls at me. Why isn’t the sedative working?

I scramble to my feet as he climbs into the truck bed with me. I step onto the roof of the car, dawning my empty syringe as a weapon. I’m ready to throw myself onto him and stab it through his body, when I watch his arms go limp. His eyes roll back into his head. He collapses, like his bones have turned to jelly, and the impact of his weight shakes the car. I almost fall off.

Now, I finally have a chance to breathe. I think I was holding my breath the whole time. It all just happened so fast. My heart is still beating the way it was before. Hasn’t settled at all. My hands are shaking too. 

I wonder if this is like what Felix felt like after he consumed the first time. The lingering climax after such a powerful burst of intense action. Was he scared? Because I expected to feel scared at this point. I don’t though.

Instead, I’m showered with relief. That was the most difficult part. It’s over. I did it. Some would argue, flawlessly. But I can’t get cocky. I have to chalk it up to a mix of beginners luck, and somewhat-good planning.

I look over the sleeping man below me. I drink him in. He’s real. His existence disgusts me. I have a body and a face to pair with his messages. And the picture of his penis. I  **want** to dispose of him. Even though I’ve gotten to know this man more than he ever will know me. 

I have to appreciate his physical fitness though. He will be good for Felix. 

Did I really just think that?

I had planned on lifting him into a wheelbarrow, and rolling him over to the garage. By foot. But it’s just as well for him to pass out right in the bed of his own truck. Would this be considered pulling one’s own weight in some respect?

His keys are not hard to find. They’re in his pocket, along with his phone and wallet. I take them, just in case he wakes up and decides to try to call for help. I need to dispose of all his identification later anyway. 

I fire up the car and pull it around back. The thing may look like a heap of junk, but it’s a surprisingly smooth ride and it runs fine enough. This is infinitely easier than even thinking about hauling Daddy101 over via a wheelbarrow. In fact, I think I just might remove the licence plates, give her a new coat of paint and keep her. If I planned to do this again, I could use the convenience.

I park the car so that the pick-up bed is in front of the garage door, and decide I might as well…. “prep him _ ” _ right in the truck. Why make this process harder for myself? I need to get this over with before I remember he had a life - possibly a family.

I strip him down and tie him up with some rope. His thighs and ankles are bound together. His wrists are held behind his back. His skin is consistently blotchy and red, like he was out in the sun for too long. Maybe he really was a construction worker or something. On an unrelated note, he has a tattoo on his back of a Chinese dragon. It’s faded and old, and strangely, it’s the only tattoo he has. He’ll never have a chance to get another either.

I have to go inside to open the garage door. Since I decided I was going to do this, I had to install some restraints for Felix. A manacle and chain around one wrist, attaching to the wall. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. Sure wasn’t easy either. It made him look like a prisoner. But I needed to be able to get into the garage and open the main door without him chasing after me or escaping. And I didn’t want to drug him. His body is already going through enough havoc without a bunch of chemicals in his bloodstream. Besides, who knows how they would react with his condition. He sleeps most of the time anyway.

He’ll sleep through most of the day, in fact. Then at some point, he’ll wake up. Grovel in pain. Pace for a few restless minutes, then run out of energy, and go back to sleep. He doesn’t touch the food I leave for him. I’m lucky if he’ll even drink a few sips of water. That’s why it’s so important to get this done.

I walk into the garage. But it’s more of Felix’s room now. He sleeps against the wall on an old mattress, breathing softly. Waking him up is no easy task these days, so I can pull the collapsing door of the garage up without worry. The truck greets me again. So does the naked body of the tied up pedophile. 

This all feels so impossibly visceral. I hope this isn’t a dream I’ll have to wake up from. I’m already starting to feel exhausted. I don’t want to have to do this for the first time again.

I pull Daddy101 out of the truck by his shoulders, letting his legs drop onto the concrete floor. It’s no picnic. He’s heavy. Yet, I know he won’t be the heaviest. Maybe I should start working out.

I lay him gently enough beside Felix. Once he wakes up, he won't be able to miss him, and the prey man won’t have anywhere to run. 

I stare at the burly pedophile on the floor and start to prepare myself for what I might see. I can’t risk him getting free somehow and hurting Felix. I’ll have to watch, probably from the barred window in the back door, as he gets pulled down into my friend’s stomach. I’m dreading it. But what I dread more are the man’s screams. He might be disgusting, but that doesn’t mean I want him to suffer. Preferably, he’d stay asleep throughout the whole ordeal. Dr. Cane said the prey had to be alive, not particularly awake.

Still, I don’t want to hear those screams. I know they’ll never let me sleep if I do. So I cut off a sleeve from his discarded flannel shirt, and use it as a gag, tying it tightly around the base of his skull.

I decide it’ll be best to at least  _ try _ to wake Felix up. Get the jump on the prey man while he’s still out.

I’ve been trying to avoid Felix for the most part. While I prepared for today, I limited my visits. After last time, I figured it would be best if he saw as little as possible of me too. I didn’t want to have to put him through that much stress and pain again. He needed peace and rest so he could be ready for this day. For this moment.

I kneel down to him. His head rests heavily on his pillow. I draw my keys from my belt and unlock his manacle, throwing it and the chain aside. I hope I won’t need to ever put it on him again. Then I place a hand on his cheek. He’s still burning up.

“Felix.” I say into his ear. “Felix, wake up.”

He doesn’t move.

I shift my hands, tenderly running my thumbs over his eyes in an attempt to elicit a reaction. “Felix.”

My fingers wander down to his slightly parted lips. They’re chapped and splitting, dried blood caked on his bottom lip. It looks like he’s been chewing it or something. 

Perhaps the taste of prey will stir him, I think, though it’s not a pleasant thought. Hesitantly, I press my thumb into his wheezing mouth. I force the pad of my finger to gently rub against the limp muscle of his tongue. I expect to feel the wet, warm saliva, and shiver in disgust. It’s not there though. I feel only it’s raw, dry, smooth surface. It worries me, but he’s still breathing. I can feel the breath coming from the back of his throat.

I need him to wake up. “ **Felix!** ”

I watch his eyes move under his closed eyelids. They begin to flutter open, and though I’m glad he’s awake, I can’t stay. Even when he does whisper my name, barely much more than a sigh. “Benji…”

It’s either me or the pedophile. I spring to my feet and bolt for the door. Like when I was a child and I’d turn off the lights in my room to go to sleep. Then I’d have to sprint to my bed because I was afraid if I didn’t make it in time, the monster lurking in the darkness would catch me and eat me alive. Only that irrational fear has crossed into a reality. Because as I throw open the back metal door and run through it, I can hear Felix stirring. He’s getting up. This is it. 

I slam the door behind me, sliding the deadbolt in home. I turn, pressing my back up against the industrial steel to catch my breath. Jesus Christ.

I don’t think my heart has settled once in the past half hour. It’s been at a consistent, somewhat instinctive pace.

But Felix. Felix. I hear his weak voice in my head. How he said my name. He had hardly even seen me yet. How did he know it was me? Did he…

Has Felix memorized the way I taste?

Oh god. This is it. This is really, actually it. It’s real. It’s happening.

I don’t want to watch. I want to just keep looking at the wall like this and wait until he’s done. 

I need to see this through though. I made my bed and now I must lie in it. 

Slowly, I start to turn my head towards the little barred 12 by 12 window behind me. 

I have a lump in my throat. I can’t swallow it. I’m choking on it.

I can see Felix’s standing silhouette in the corner of my eye. No, I need to watch this in clarity. I force myself to stare straight through the glass.

His back is to me. But I can see, over his shoulder, the naked man in his hands. He’s asleep...until he’s not, and he’s looking right up at Felix. His eyes are wide as saucers in his head. He thrashes around in the preds grip. I hear his muffled cries from across the room and through the door. The sound is terrible, like a baby crying. I press the heel of my palms into my ears. 

From behind, I watch Felix’s jaw stretch wide. He raises the man’s head up toward his face. 

I close my eyes. I just can’t watch any more.

Because when I blink, the man looks more like me.

Am I a murderer now? Does this mean I killed someone? Am I just as bad as the Facility?

I remind myself, no. I can’t be. This was the right decision. The only decision I would be able to live with. This was me, keeping my promise to Felix. And after this is all over, I’ll be able to sleep tonight. In fact, I’ll sleep next to him. So I can be reminded of just how much this was worth it.

It’s killing two birds with one stone. I save Felix, and wash a stain from the earth. I try to think of the children I’ve saved by doing this. What if I wasn’t me? What if I really  _ was _ a 14 year old girl? I think, wherever that girl is, I’ve saved her, haven’t I? And Felix has saved her too.

With that in mind, when I look back through the window of the door and I see Daddy101’s legs sink behind Felix’s head to slide down his throat, I don’t feel as afraid. In fact, I’m even a little glad. 

Felix is going to live.

His stomach inflates heavily with the arrival of his prey. I don’t focus on his new shape though. It doesn’t matter all that much to me. It doesn’t scare me like I thought it would. Because Felix just looks so fully and completely satisfied. 

He lets out a tired sigh, with drowsy, half-lidded eyes. Then he just retreats onto his mattress on the floor, curls up around his swollen stomach, and goes back to sleep.

That’s it. It’s over. Until next time anyway.

I leave Felix time to digest. I just don’t think I can face him until he looks...like a person again. With a flat stomach. And when he does wake up, prey fully digested, he’ll probably be hungry.

I let a few hours go by. In that time, I don’t talk to anyone. Not even Camille. I can’t begin to imagine how she’ll react once she finds out about what I’ve done. She just might disown me, I think. And I can’t tell Dr. Cane either. Not yet anyway. Let Felix get better. Then, I can show her what he’s really like. That he’s not an animal. He’s a man who truly wants to help us, even if they can never fully trust him. But he locked himself up after all. Respected the feelings and concerns of Epomis. The organization that insists he’s an emotionless beast. He was willing to try and see from their point of view, even though he hadn’t needed to for a long time. 

He sacrificed his freedom and health to prove himself and his intentions. That was indisputable. And anyone who refused to see that was a true idiot. They’d  _ have to _ acknowledge how he is such a valuable asset.

I’m back in the kitchen. I make Felix a pred-sized meal of rice, scrambled eggs and vegetables. There’s more, if I need to come back up for seconds.

I head back downstairs, to the B wing with the steaming hot plate of food in my hands. Before I open Felix’s door, I look back through the window. 

He’s sitting up on the side of his mattress, staring at the floor, blankly. His stomach is flat against him. He’s fully digested his prey. But still I can’t tell if he’s himself again. 

I’m not willing to take the chance.

Instead of going inside, I unlock the door, opening it just enough to get my arms and the plate through. I set it on the floor and close the door back up again. From there, I find myself back up against the wall. Listening. I listen to the sound of Felix’s footsteps walk over to the door. The light scraping of porcelain, as the plate is taken off the concrete floor. He goes back to his bed.

Felix took the food. 

I jump to my feet and glance out the window again.

He’s sitting down with his plate on his lap. He’s using the fork I gave him. He’s shoveling the food down with it. Hell, he even uses the napkin. The  _ napkin. _

He’s eating like a man. Is he back? 

I can’t sit and wonder anymore. Not when he’s right there! Still looking like crap but actually eating from a plate with utensils!

I tell myself that I’ll be careful, and I slowly pull the deadbolt over again. Istick my head through the door, just enough so I can see Felix.

But Felix has seen me first. Mid-mouthful no less. His eyes scan over the bit of my face that he can see. Then, raising his hand over his stuffed mouth - polite as could be, he says, “Benji?”

His voice is still low and scratchy. But even though he poses my name as a question, he knows. In fact, I’m positive he knows it’s me.

I can’t keep a smile from spreading across my face. I allow myself to come out a little bit from behind the door, remaining cautious, throwing his name out as a reply. “Felix? Are you…?”

He takes a second to swallow his food before he nods. “Yeah.” I can’t tell if he’s happy to see me or not though. He just looks so confused.

I’m ready to come out of hiding. I close the door behind me. 

Before I get a chance to speak, he asks me, “Are you okay?” He means it too. I don’t think he remembers much. I’ll have to ask him.

“Yeah. I’m okay.” I slowly walk towards him as he takes another bite of food. “How are you feeling?”

Felix is too busy eating to say at first. In fact, I think he uses the time chewing and swallowing to decide how he feels. “Weak.” He takes another mouthful.

That's just about what I expected. But already, I’m so pleasantly surprised. Impressed even. I can see the gears in his head turning. It’s beyond amazing. I sit next to him.

“Not too close.” He tells me, gently. “My body isn’t the only thing that’s weak.”

“Sorry.” I move over. Can’t bring myself to stand back up again though. I need to absorb him and his presence. I feel like I’ve been deprived of it. 

Despite being awake and properly fed, he looks so tired. “Did you make this?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s good. It’s warm and comfort food-y, you know? Kind of just what I needed.” He glances down at me and smiles appreciatively. 

I savor that smile. It means everything to me. Especially since, for a time, I didn’t think I would ever see it again. It feels like I’ve found something I had lost. 

“Is your mouth still dry?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I drank, like, ten bottles of water when I woke up.” He points to a pile of plastic, empty  _ Spring _ bottles in the corner. I always leave a twenty-pack of them in here for him. 

Now, a pile of garbage has never filled me with so much joy. I even chuckle. “I’m not surprised. You were really dehydrated.”

“Yeah, I was....” He trails off as he scrapes up the last few grains of rice, broccoli and egg. “I was a lot of things.” It’s staged as a passing, mindless comment. But it’s not. I know what he means. 

And I think it’s the right time to ask. “What do you remember?”

Felix swallows the rest of his food, setting his barren plate and fork next to his foot. Then he lets out a heavy breath as he searches his mind for, what must be, fuzzy, muddy memories. “Not a whole lot. Just bits and pieces, really. Mostly smells and sounds and...feelings.”

He means urges. He means the pain and the hunger. “Do you remember what happened before you went to sleep?” I thought saying it would be harder. It wasn’t though. It comes out like any other question. I’m sure he appreciates that.

Felix glances at me, then away, even turning his head toward the wall. He’s ashamed. Perhaps he doesn’t know I had something to do with it. “Yes.” He mutters. 

Without really thinking about it, my hand reaches over and rests on his knee. I know what he’s thinking. That he has to hide from me again. But there was really no way for him to hide anymore. “It's okay.” I whisper, because I feel like Felix’s ears are ringing. “He was a bad person. Who wanted to do  _ really bad _ things. You didn’t hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it. I made sure of it.”

His head snaps back to me, eyes going wide. “Y-you did?”

“Mm-hm.” I hum with a nod. “He was a kid-toucher. I made him think I was a little girl to lure him here.”

“You  _ lured _ him here? For me to...?” 

I tell him. I need him to know. “Yes. Of course I did.”

His face flushes a deep red. He didn’t expect me to do something like that, I’m sure. I wouldn’t have either, though. “Please tell me you didn’t see me do it.”

I have to smile a little, stifling a laugh. A bit late for that too. “I did.”

Felix sighs, turning away and rubbing his temples. I want to touch his skin. Does it still burn? “I’m so sorry, Benji. I can’t imagine how-”

“No, don’t.” My hand is on his arm. He doesn’t feel like a walking furnace anymore. He’s temperature is comfortably  _ alive. _ “I needed to make sure you got him down.” I say. “I’m not scared, Felix. If I was when we were kids, or over the last few weeks, I’m not anymore. Not of you anyway. Or of what you are. I’m more afraid of losing you again.

“I don’t think you’re an animal. In fact, I think you have more heart than most of the people in this organization. You’re the perfect example of the equality we  _ should  _ be fighting for. You’ve taught me that we need to stop denying what we are and start accepting it. We need to start accepting  _ each other _ . Because if we keep pushing the truth away because it isn’t pretty, things are just going to get uglier.” Is what I tell him. “ _ You  _ taught me that, Felix.”

His eyes have locked with mine. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed them. In fact, the things around me have just faded away. Now, all I want is him to know exactly how much he means to me, and what we need to do next. He looks so flabbergasted though. I’d even venture to say, inspired. 

I wait to see if he will reply to me. After a beat, he does. “Wow,” I can’t tell if he’s talking to me or himself. “I think that was the sappiest thing you’ve ever told me.”

Yes.  _ Yes! _ Felix is back. And of course, the first thing he does, is make me laugh. 

“By the way, it’s not Felix anymore. I just go by Lux now.”

“No. Sorry.” I shake my head, grinning ear to ear. “You’ll always be Felix to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed that. I worked really hard on it. Thank you. :)


End file.
